Train-control apparatus



J. S. CRAWFORD. TRAIN- CONTROL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 21, 1920.

PatentedSept. 27; 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

UNITED STATES- "PATENT OFFlCE.

' JOHN- s. CRAWFORD, or NEW,LO1\TIIDON, CONNECTICUT.

TRAIN-CONTROL APPARATUS.

sp i Letters at Patented Sept. 27, 1921.

Original application filed December 26,1917, Serial No. 208,779, Patent No. 1,362,927 dated December 21,

1920. Divided and this application filed December 21, 1920. Serial No. 432,182.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

,Be it known that I, J OHN S. CRAWFORD, a citizen of the United States of America,-residing at New London, in the county of New London, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Train- Control Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial N0."20.8,779, filed December 26, 1917, which has now matured into Patent 1,362,927, Dec. 21, 1920, for automatic traincontrol, and relates to the automatic control of'railway trains, and has for its objects the provision of reliable and eflicicnt mechanism for automatically controlling a train in the presence of danger conditions.

The invention of my aforesaid application is designed to be'applied to and used in'con-- junction with the usual air brake systems and briefly stated comprises a control valve adapted to be operated by a so-called cam or obstruction provided on the trackway and which" when so .actuated permits pressure from the train pipe to actuate a valve for. shutting off communication between the main train pipe air being thereby vented to b i'jihng 1s shut-off valve when. so .actuated'serve's to open up a flow of fluid under pressure from the main reservoir to a pressure operated power controlling member, and also pro- 'vides'for a flow of actuating fluid to restore the control valve to its original condition.

The particular invention to be covered in this application relates to the trackage arrangement or electromotor and signal system for operating the control valve.

Other features of the invention will ap-, pear as the specification proceeds, attention being now directed to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention embodied in a practical working fornn;

In said drawings :'"f I Figure 1 1s a more 'or less diagrammatic representation ofmy automatic control system as applied to a steam railway, the several parts of the apparatus being for-the most part shown in section to better lllIlS- rate their construction and'operation.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the se vice and eme g n y control a ves.

reservoir and-engineers valve, said .Flg. 4 1s a sectional detailiview of a.

swivel joint.

Fig. "5 is 'a-Sectionalview showing the? throttle latch releasingmeans; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of, l

a part of a compensating or automatically;

adjusting valve. l a I l .-The numeral 7ldesignates the train pipe or train line ofa typical air brake installa tion, indicating the main reservoir and 9 the engineers valve of ,suchsystem, said ell-'1 gineersv valve being disposed as usualin a pipef connection 10 between the main reser voir and train pipe. 11 designates'the power controlling member, which in the Case of a steam railway is illustrated in the form of a throttle lever.

Thecontrol valve is indicated at -12;and

the shut-ofii valve is indicated at 13.

Speclfically the control valvecomprises in the present disclosure a cylinder 14 within which there-is mounted a valve piston 15" controlling an inlet 16 and an outlet 17, said piston being mounted'on a protruding piston rod 18 carrying a roller 19 at its lower end for engagement with the track cam. This latter element is designated 20* and maybe in the form of a short rail. section or ramp disposed between the tracks in position to engage when raisedwith the trip roller-19.."

The cam or tripping device is actuated in the present illustration by an electric motor, comprising an armature element 21 mounted on a yertically:reciprocatingplunger 22 and working within a relatively stationary field magnet structure 28. The cam is mounted on the upper end of the plunger 22and'this vertically reciprocating structure may becounter-balancedby a weight 24 adjustably" engaged on ,the endof a pivoted lever 25 p whichis shown pivotally engaged with the lower'end of the plunger,- The electrical connections, as will later'be pointed out indetail, are such that at one time thearma;

ture and field willbe energized to attract one another. and under reverse conditions will be Y energized to repel each other. f

The main shut-ofl" valve 13, as here disclosed, consists of a cylinder 26 withinwhich WQlkfi a p s on 2.7 carry g a valve 2$ engagement with a valve seat 29, thelatter being disposed in a passage forming part of the connections between the main reservoir and engineers valve.

The shut-off valve piston 27 also controls a vent 30 to atmosphere.

The control or trip operated valve is connected at its inlet side 16 by piping 31 with the train pipe and is connected at its outlet side 17 by piping 32 with the cyhnder 26 of the shut-off valve.

From the construction thus far described it will lee-apparent that when the trip roller train pipe air to escape by way of said 'vent,

this resulting in an applicationof the brakes.

The force for'cutti'ng oif the steam or other power is supplied in'iny present disclosure from the main' reservoir through pipe 33 by-passed around the shut-off valve andunder the control of a valve 3e which in i valve.

head of the piston therein is connected by a port 37 with the shut-off valve passage 38 turn is under the control of the shut-off valve. This air supply valve 34 is'shown directly connected with a piston 35 working in a cylinder 36 which latter maybe made as an integral part of the main shut-off The top of cylinder 36 above the so that when the shut-off valve is open, as itis under normal running conditions valve 34: will be held closed by the main reservoir pressure on top of piston 35. When however the shut-off valve is actuated as above described, to close ofi communication between the main reservoir and engineers valve, the port 37 will be covered by the stem portion 39 of valve 28 and pressure on top of piston 35 will be thereby removed. The remaining pressure on top of piston 35 is vented at such times by way of a vent port 40 provided in the cylinder above the piston and connected by piping l1 with a port e2 opening into the cylinder 26, This porter-2' is normally covered by the piston 27 but when said piston is moved over as above described to close the shut-oif valve, said port is opened and the pressure ontop of cylinder 35 can thereby escape through piping 41 and port l2 out the then-opened vent 30.

When the shut-oil valve has been closed and the pressure on top of piston 35 thus relieved, the air supply valve 34; opens under influence of the main reservoir pressure supply beneath the same through piping 33 and permits flow otair at said reservoir pressure through port 43 and by way of piping ne point beneath the piston 15 in the throttle closing cylinder 46. This piston isconnected by a piston rod 47 with the rearward end of the pivoted. throttle lever so as-toimparta closing movement to the throttle;

To enable this closing movement the throttle latch must be'released and this is accomplished the case illustrated by a throttle lifting piston 48 connected with the latch rod 49 and working in a cylinder 50,

said '0 linder'bein sun lied with actuatin fluid through branch piping 51 connected with the supply pipe 44. 'A swivel joint is provided in this branch line to allow for the pivoting movement of the throttle lever, said joint comprising a chambered member 52 mounted on the throttle, to which the piping leading to the latch lifting cylinder is connected and which is provided with a'passage 53 concentric with the pivotal axis of the throttle in which is rotatably engaged the end of the branch piping 51 leading from'the supply pipe 44;.

In the present illustration thecontrol is exercised from the t rack signals by means of switches operated by the semaphore arm and controlling operation of the cam lifting motor. 5 l de'signates the semaphore or track signal carrying a control arm 55. supporting a series of switch contacts 56, 57 and 58 for bridging contacts 59-60 61-62; 63-6-1 respectively. 'Contact 59 is connected by wiring 65 with the contact 66 within the housing 67 of the track mot-or, said contact being slidingly engaged bya brush 68 carried bythe movable-element of the motor and connected by wiring 69 with the armature 21-. Contact60=is connected by wiring 70' with one side ofth'e stationary'field winding 23and contact 61 is connected by wiring 71 with the otherside of this "field winding. Contact 62 is connected by wiring 72 with one of-the current supplying wires 73. Contact 63 isconnected by wiring 74 with a contact 75 with which engages the sliding coi1- tact 76, connected with the other side of the armature. Contact 64 isconnected by wiring 77 with the otherl-ine wire 78.

When therefore the semaphore arm stands in the warning position shown in Fig. 1, the circuits will be established as follows: from line wire 73' throughwiring 72, contact 62. bridging contact 57,-contact 61, wiring. 71 through 'fiel d winding 23 and by way of wiring70 to contact 60, bridging, contact 56. contact 59,' wiring 65. contact 66, brush 68 and wiring 69 to the movable armature windings 21 (diagrammatically shown) and thence by connection 79, brush 76. contact 75, wiring 7&1 to contact 63, bridging contact 58, contact '64 and connection 77 to the other line wire 7 8. These connections are such as to cause the armature and field to repel each other and the cam to be therefore raisedinto the tripping position indicated. I

When the track signal drops back to the safety position .circuits are established as follows for effecting a reverse operation of- 92-74, contact 75, brush 76 and connection 79 to the opposite or reverse side of the armature 21 and thence by wiring 69,'brush 68," contact66 and wiring 93 to contact 87 and across bridging contact 82 to contact 88 and thence by wiring 94: to the return side 78 of the line. Under these'so-called safety conditions the armature and field will attract each other and hence the cam will be lowered to an inactive position. The counter balanceweight 24 is usually so adjusted that in case of any electrical'connections be ing broken, the cam willbe automatically elevated.

The control valve 12 is designed to effect a service application of the brakes. 'When therefore said valve is operated by the cam elevated as just described, said valve will release the train pipe air at a rate such as to elfect a so-called service brake application. Thisis accomplished by providing what I have termed a compensating or automatically adjusting valve 95 in the air connec tions between the train pipe and control valve. This compensating valve comprises a piston 96 working in the cylinder 97 and normally acted upon by the train pipe air, said piston carrying a slide 98 having a substantially, diamond-shaped valve port 99 therein controlling a port 100 connected by the piping 31 with the control-valve. When the full pressure train pipe air is upon piston 96, the piston will be forced downward so that the constricted upper end of the diamond-shaped. valve port 99 will be dis posed over the outlet port-100. 1 Consequently, with the tra'in pipe air at normal pressure, when the control valve is actuated the escape oftrain pipe air by way of cylinder 26 and vent 30 will at first be restricted to prevent too sudden an application of the brakes. Then, as the train pipe pressure is reduced by the venting thereof, the piston 96 in the compensating cylinder will rise under the actionof the'counterebalance spring 101, carrying the diamond-shaped valve slide upward to-more ful y 996 the out e P 0 A gradual but at the'same time complete application of the brakes is thus assured.

To insure the control valve being promptly returned to its original condition after it has been actuated by the trip cam, I have provided a connection 102 for supplying air under main reservoir pressure from supply pipe 44 to the head of the piston 15 of the control valve. be restored to normal operation position along with the shut-ofi of power.

After operation of the automatic stop mechanism the engineer may regain control of. his train by openingithe shut-oil valve to again establishcommunication between the main reservolr and englneers valve, th1s be ing accompllshed by returning. the shut-off Thus the control valve will valve to the position indicated in Fig. 1 by forcing in the handle 103connected with the shut-off valve. When this'is done air under reservoirlpressure is again applied to the top of piston 35 which closes the air supply valve 34. gThe air from the throttle unlatching cylinder andcontrol valve cylinder 14C in this f case'vent back through the pipe 44,

port 43' and by wayof an exhaust port 104 and vent pipe 105 into the cylinder 26 at 106 in front vent 30. V

To prevent duplication of theengineers of piston 27"and thence out the actions the'automatic stop is automatically cut out of operation when the train is 'properly controlled by the engineer. Thus when the engineer, observing the signals set against him, reduces speediby applying the brakes, pressure in the train pipe is reduced and this effect is taken advantage of to render the automatic stopping mechanism inoperative. The means for this purpose here comprises a cut-out cylinder 107-interposed in the line of connections between the train pipe ancl'control valve and having a spring pressed piston 1'08 therein acting as a valve to'control the passage 109 between said cylinder and the compensating cylinder.. The train pipe air. connected by piping 110 with thehead ofthe cylinder 107 forces said piston 108 over to open up communication between the train pipeand control valve by way of port 109. 'VVhen however, the pressure in the train pipe is reduced by the engineers application of the brakes said piston 108 is moved overby its counterbalance spring to close the port 109 and thus cut oil -communication""betweenj the train pipe and control valve The operation of the control valve thenwill have no effect stop when necessary. This may be accomplished by providing a second control cylinder 113 having a valve 1141 therein provided with a valve rod 115 carrying a roller; 116 on its lower end for engagement with a socalled danger or emergency stop. cam. This latter cam will be off-set to one side ofthe service stop cam, already described, and means similar to those described in connection with the service stop cam will be pro- .means for-reversingthe electrical connec vided for operating the same. The emergency stop control acts when operated to provide for a sudden. release of the, train pipe pressure to thus effect an emergency application of the brakes. This is accomplished in the illustration by connecting cyl-- inder 113 directly with the train pipe by a connection 117 and with the pipe 32 by connection 118, so thatwhen said emergency valve is operated the full train pipepressure will be quickly vented by way of vent 30 of the shut-off valve. Y I: a

The service andfemergency stop control valves may be coupled together in a single unit as indicated in'Figs. 2, 8. Said valves may be separately tested before startingion' valve 119 which; be turned in opposite directions tojpro-,

a run by means 'of a test;

vide flow through either pipe 120 or 121 to lift either one of the valves, pressure being supplied for this purpose by piping 122 connected with the main reservoir. Check valves 123 may be provided in these test connections120, 121 to prevent escape of train pipe air by way of these connections when the control valvesare operated by the track trips. l

The track motor which I have provided is particularly simple and sturdy inconstruction and therefore well adapted to the uses for which it is designed. There is'practically only one moving part, that is, the movable armature structure and the parts areall protected within the housing shown. As a further protection, the armature structure may be covered by a bell-shaped dome or hood 121 carried by the plunger 22 and covering the armature and field and the sliding electrical connections described. By adjustin the wei ht 2 1 the motor maybe set to operate as desired. 1 e

'The invent1on 1t Wlll beseenls capable of ready application to the tram controlllng and braking systems oftrains now in .use

*and it will be seenthat on the wholethe invention comprises but relatively few and comparatively simple parts or mechanlsms which are not likely to get out of order.'

The system furthermore is direct and positive in its action. The ability to secure both 1 service and emergency applications is of special importance. The compensating or pressure reducing mechanism used in connection w1th the service braking applications 1,3 hlghly des rable as preventing Sudden injurious application of the a member for operating-the control valve of an automatic train stop, and a track motor for positioning sa1d member in the path of the control valve comprising relatively movablelield and armature structures, and

tions through said structures to cause the same to attract o'r'repel each other.

In a device ofthe character described,

a trip -member for operating the control valveof an automatic train stop, a plunger supporting said trip, member, an armature structure on said plunger, a field structure the armature. and field structures. v

3. In a device ofthe character; described, a trip member for operating. the-r control valve of an automatic train stop, a plunger supporting aid-trip member, an armature structure on said plungena'field structure: disposed in magnetic, I'Bl'flIlOII to the ,arma j ture. structure, means for relatively reversing-- the electrical connections between the armature and field structures, and trafiic controlling means for controlling said electricalconnections;

1. Ina device of the character described.

a trip (for actuating the control member" of an automatictrain stop, and atrack mo tor for positioning said trip inthe path 01 the control member comprising a vertically reciprocating plunger. supporting the trip member, an armature on said plunger, a field.

able electrical connections to the movable armature, means for relatively reversing the connections between the armature and field, and an adjustable; counterbalance for the armature structure;

5. Ina device of the character described,

a trip for actuatingthe control member of an I automatic train; stop, and a track motor for positioning said trip inthe path of the control member comprising a vertically reciprocating plunger supporting the tripmembcr,

an armature on. said plunger, a field 'structure surrounding sa d armature, slidableelectr cal connectlons to the movable armaa trip member adapted when in one posi{ tion to operate the control member of atrain stop, a reciprocating track-motor for 1 .01

brakes and an even setting-of the brakesthroughout the '105 structure surrounding; said armature, slid-'1 7. In a device of the character described,

a trip member adapted when in one position to operate the control member of a train stop, an electric track motor for moving said trip member, and trafiic controlling means for reversing the flow of current through a part of said motor.

8. In a device of the character described, a trip member adapted When in one position to operate the control member of a train stop, a reciprocating track motor for moving said trip member in one direction, trafiic controlling means for controlling the operation of said track motor, and means for shielding the Working parts of said track motor.

9. In a device of the character described,-

a trip member adapted when in one position toroperate the control member of a train stop, a reciprocating track motor for moving said trip member in one direction, and means for controlling the operation of said motor.

10. In a device of the character described, a trip member adapted when in one position to operate the control member of a train stop, a reciprocating track motor for movmg said trlp member in one direction, means for controlling the operation of said motor,

member. FORD.

and a counterbalance for said tri JOHN S. ORA 

